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Bush Administration Memo Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Apply To Military Operations Within U.S. (04/02/2008)
NEW YORK – A newly disclosed secret memo authored by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in March 2003 that asserts President Bush has unlimited power to order brutal interrogations of detainees also reveals a radical interpretation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The memo, declassified yesterday as the result of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, cites a still-secret DOJ memo from 2001 that found that the "Fourth Amendment had no application to domestic military operations."

New Report Supports ACLU Warnings on Fusion Centers (04/02/2008)
Washington, DC – A new document obtained by the Washington Post supports warnings by the American Civil Liberties Union regarding the post-9/11 institutions known as fusion centers. A story published today in the Post confirms fusion centers’ growing role in law enforcement and reveals their expanding ties to private industry, including relationships with massive data-brokering companies. The ACLU released a report last year outlining serious concerns with fusion centers.

ACLU Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Probe Department of Homeland Security (04/02/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an annual oversight hearing, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the committee to demand he answer tough questions about DHS’s most troubling initiatives. The ACLU submitted a statement for the record detailing concerns the organization has with some of the department’s activities, namely recent policies regarding immigration raids, deaths in immigration detention facilities, Real ID, Total Information Awareness and fusion centers.

ACLU Tells House to Remain Steadfast on FISA (04/01/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today commented on reports that President Bush said he is willing to negotiate on the domestic surveillance program.

Secret Bush Administration Torture Memo Released Today In Response To ACLU Lawsuit (04/01/2008)
NEW YORK — A secret memo authored by the Department of Justice (DOJ) asserting that President Bush has unlimited power to order brutal interrogations to extract information from detainees was declassified today as a result of an American Civil Liberties Union Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The memo, written by John Yoo, then a deputy at the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), was sent to the Defense Department in March 2003.

Newly Unredacted Documents Confirm Lack Of Oversight Of Military's Domestic Surveillance Powers (04/01/2008)
NEW YORK - On the heels of an internal report criticizing the FBI for abusing its power to issue National Security Letters (NSLs), newly unredacted documents released today as a result of an American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit reveal that the Department of Defense (DoD) is using the FBI to circumvent legal limits on its own NSL power and may have overstepped its authority to obtain private and sensitive records of people within the United States without court approval.

Federal Appeals Court to Hear NYCLU Arguments About Secret Court Opinion and NSA Warrantless Wiretapping (03/21/2008)
The United States Court of Appeals in Manhattan will hear arguments Monday morning in a criminal prosecution that presents a challenge to the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program as well as a challenge to a secret lower court order and related government filings about the NSA program. The New York Civil Liberties Union is directly challenging the secret court order and secret government filings and also has filed a separate friend-of-the-court brief about the NSA program.

Passport Security Breaches Show Privacy Vulnerabilities (03/21/2008)

Amicus Brief of the ACLU of Oregon in Mayfield v. USA (03/17/2008)

ACLU Of Oregon Urges Appeals Court To Reject Patriot Act Search And Surveillance Provisions (03/17/2008)
PORTLAND, OR – The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging a federal appeals court to affirm a lower court’s decision to strike down two search and surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The case was brought by Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield against the federal government after the FBI mistakenly linked him to the Madrid train bombings in 2004. The lower court found that secret searches of Mayfield’s house and office violated the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.

Terror Watch Lists are Unworkable (03/17/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) comments on a report on Terror Watch lists released today from the Office of the Inspector of the Department of Justice. The following can be attributed to Timothy Sparapani, Senior Legislative Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The House Stands Up to Scare Tactics, House Votes to Let Consumers Have Their Day in Court (03/14/2008)
Washington, DC – The bruising battle over domestic surveillance that has been red hot since August took a dramatic turn today as the U.S. House of Representatives refused to bow to the president’s scare tactics. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) commends the Members of the House for standing up to the president and for allowing Americans to have their day in court against telecommunications companies that released private information to the government without a warrant.

MCLU Applauds Representatives Allen and Michaud for Rejecting Telecom Immunity (03/14/2008)
The MCLU praises the house vote, 221 to 188 in favor of a surveillance program that does not include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that provided information to the National Security Agency, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This vote allows the Maine Public Utilities Commission complaint case to move forward in the courts. Both Reps Tom Allen and Michael Michaud voted in favor of protecting Mainers’ privacy.

ACLU Asks Appeals Court To Affirm Decision Striking Down Patriot Act ”National Security Letter” Provision (03/14/2008)
NEW YORK - In a brief filed under seal on Monday and unsealed yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appellate court to uphold a lower court decision striking down the National Security Letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act. The provision gives the FBI the authority to issue letters demanding private information about people within the United States, and to place the recipients of the letters under indefinite gag order. A report released on Thursday by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) revealed widespread, systemic abuse of the NSL power by the FBI.

ACLU Appeals Dismissal Of Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (03/14/2008)
SAN JOSE, CA - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced it will appeal a federal court decision to throw out a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen, filed by the ACLU on behalf of five victims of the rendition program, was dismissed in February after the government intervened, once again misusing the “state secrets” privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

FBI Audit Exposes Widespread Abuse Of Patriot Act Powers (03/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – A report released today by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on the FBI’s use of National Security Letters (NSLs) reveals a systemic, widespread abuse of power. The FBI’s authority to issue NSLs was widely expanded by the USA Patriot Act and it has been increasingly used to collect private information on American citizens without court approval. Today’s audit follows a report released last year that found serious breaches of department regulations and multiple potential violations of the law.

ACLU Lauds Introduction of House State Secrets Bill (03/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Legislation introduced today may give a much-needed reprieve to those who have sued the government and encountered the state secrets privilege. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would establish appropriate limits on the use of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration has misused the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).